Author: Jennie Starr This article does a great job of arguing “Israeliness” may be a solution to combat apathy towards organized Jewish life in the Diaspora and the challenges of assimilation. Though I’m not a fan of the term “Israeliness,” I do believe Israeli culture and Hebrew language can be key to raising Jewish Americans with an Israeli lens that bridges and connects us for years to come. Some of my favorite quotes from within: Oblivion knocks. The two obvious alternatives—aliya and Orthodoxy—require so radical a change in one’s lifestyle that they’re… Read More

Great article from CEO & Preseident of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, David Gedzelman in their Contact magazine about how critically important relevance, context, and connection is to teaching Modern Hebrew in America for American Jews and Israeli-Americans and how using the proficiency approach, leveraging methodologies like ACTFL standards and more are key to doing it right. Read the article here. http://www.steinhardtfoundation.org/contact/winter2016/winter_2016_gedzelman.htm

Rabbi Josh Fenton writes about the challenges at Edah, a Jewish education enrichment program in Berkeley as they pair down the commitment requirements for families looking for innovative Jewish enrichment experiences laden with Hebrew, but fail to commit to more immersive experiences. Rabbi Fenton offers a response to an earlier article published in JWeekly.com that entitled “Hebrew not required” emphasizing the importance of Hebrew to Jewish education he asks, “The question is: What is Jewish education without Hebrew? And what does a generation of Jews look like who don’t speak the language… Read More